Ice cream products on a stick have been known for decades. They are normally produced by extruding an ice cream log and cutting it perpendicularly, a stick is then inserted in the product leading to an ice cream on a stick which can then be, for example, coated with chocolate and then wrapped in individual packaging.
This basic technology does not allow for the production of complex shapes since it relies on the perpendicular cutting of an extruded log.
Other technologies have been proposed wherein ice cream is injected in a mould made of two halves, a stick is then introduced and the product is then de-moulded (Margolis).
All these technologies rely on first producing the ice cream product, then a stick is added. It leads to having to introduce by brute force a stick in an ice cream whereas this ice cream can, for example contain inclusions (chocolate nuggets, almonds, etc. . . . ). This can cause significant structural damage when the stick hits an inclusion.
More recently, a process was proposed a process for the manufacturing of frozen aerated products comprising;    (a) providing two separate forming elements,    (b) providing at least one open cavity on a surface of each forming element,    (c) providing filling devices for filling said cavities with a frozen aerated material,    (d) filling two cavities, one on each forming element, with a frozen aerated material,wherein    a. at least one of the cavities is filled with a frozen aerated product having an overrun of between 30% and 130%,    b. this product is then allowed to expand outside its cavity,    c. the two cavities are then moved opposite one another and the frozen aerated product in each cavity is pressed against the frozen aerated product in the other cavity.
This later process presents many advantages, it particularly allows for the production of complex shapes (true 3-dimensional products) at a very high production rate. Nonetheless, products obtained through this process have either no stick or a stick is added to the product after it has been removed from the mould, leading again to the problems already mentioned and relating to the difficulty to introduce a stick in an ice cream, particularly when it contains inclusions.
Tests and Definitions
Frozen aerated product shall mean a frozen confection as described in ICE CREAM—Fourth Edition—W S Arbuckle—Chapman & Hall—pages 297 to 312.
Temperature of the Rollers:
The roller temperature is measured by a resistance temperature probe situated 5 mm beneath the surface.